The Childhood and Families: Research and Development Centre, based at the University of Strathclyde, aims to investigate ways to best support the parents and carers of young children.
Ms Jamieson said she hoped the centre would provide a valuable voice in discussions on early years services. She said, 'I was pleased to see that this will be a centre for policy development as well as research. Many of the themes of the centre's development work are ones which lie at the very heart of the Scottish Executive's current early years agenda, for example social inclusion, inter-agency collaboration, and working in partnership with families and communities. I hope the centre can contribute to wider early years developments by acting as a source of services, information and ideas.'
Studies being carried out at the centre include looking at the role of fathers in relation to early years services, investigating early years services in rural areas and research into nurture groups to help integrate children with emotional and social difficulties in primary school.
The centre's director Peter Lee said, 'We want CAF: Research and Development Centre to be interactive and informative, and it is extremely important that there is a continuation in dialogue between the voluntary sector, the private sector, the local authority sector and ourselves.
'More than 300 people are already involved in the centre and we are looking to increase our network of children's centres and nurseries to participate in small conferences and team seminars. We would like nurseries to share and extend information and tell us what to do.'
The centre has resulted from a unique partnership between the Scottish Early Years and Family Network (SEFYN) and the Faculty of Education at the University of Strathclyde. SEFYN has now ceased operating, with all resources taken into the new centre and the staff made permanent members of the Faculty of Education at the university.
The centre's service will operate throughout Scotland and beyond and has three main areas of operation - research, facilitating networks services and policy development. It will provide a forum for policymakers, practitioners and parents to share and contribute to developments, and aims to generate high-quality information and understanding about learning and development in families, communities and children's services.
At the launch Rita Swinnen from the Bernard van Leer Foundation, a Dutch group promoting a holistic approach to chldren's development, which is part-funding the centre, placed it in an international context. She said she hoped it would continue the international dimension of the work of SEFYN and liaise with programmes in other countries.
For information on the centre's work contact Jacque Fee, network co-ordinator, CAF Research and Development Centre, University of Strathclyde, Southbrae Drive, Glasgow G13 1PP (tel 0141 950 3590, e-mail jacque.fee@strath.ac.uk).